If you speak to anyone that has been through the process of a kitchen remodeling project they will almost certainly testify to how important careful planning is. With it, the entire project will often run relatively smoothly, but without it your kitchen remodeling can turn into a nightmare that you wish you had never embarked upon. After more than 25 years in this industry we’ve learned a lot about the errors that can slow a renovation down or make it considerably more difficult, and we’ve also discovered a few tips that can really help to streamline the process. We’re going to share a few of these do’s and don’ts in this article.

Make Sure Your Kitchen Remodeling Goes Smoothly With These Tips

According to the annual Cost Vs Value report that Remodeling magazine produces each year, three quarters of the cost of midrange kitchen renovations (which amounts to just over $18,000 based on this report) can be recouped if you later sell your property. Here are some of the biggest do’s and don’ts if you’re considering a kitchen remodeling in the near future:

• Do Lots of Your Own Research – While we would seriously recommend you work with an experienced kitchen designer, it’s always a good idea to do some of your own research beforehand, as ultimately it’s your opinion that should count and you should never allow yourself to be strong-armed into design choices. Simply by browsing websites such as Houzz and Pinterest or by visiting trades shows you can get some very good ideas in terms of the layout, features, colours and finishes that you would like to implement.

• Don’t Skimp on Your Kitchen Cabinets – Many homeowners have a tendency to want to cut costs and save as much money when buying new kitchen cabinets as possible. After all they are just “boxes” that are used to store your food items and cooking equipment, right?! Wrong! They occupy a large part of the kitchen and therefore have a tremendous influence on the overall design visually. Kitchen cabinets are one aspect of kitchen remodeling that we would recommend you allocate a bit of extra money to.

• Do Implement Plenty of Preparation Space – One big mistake that many people make is to not incorporate much preparation space into the design of their kitchen, particularly around the oven. This then leads to a cluttered and rather chaotic environment when it comes time to prepare meals. While it might not contribute much to the room aesthetically, when it comes to the kitchen’s practical role, counter space proves invaluable.

• Don’t Leave Space Between Cabinet Tops and the Ceiling – It’s not until after the kitchen remodeling is completed that you realise there’s nothing you can actually do with this space and we mean nothing. All it does is accumulate dust and break up the design flow of your cabinetry. But after the fact it’s usually too costly to do anything about it.

Get it right and a kitchen remodeling project can be the best investment you’ll ever make, but get it wrong and it can be a very painful experience. To avoid these issues and some of the other common pitfalls, contact our team who proudly serve Torontoon 416-762-3500.

Bathroom renovations are a great way to improve your property, but they often don’t come cheap. That cost can be further increased when mistakes are made and by simply being aware of these mistakes before you take any action, you have a much better chance of sticking to the budget you have in mind. We’ve witnessed many bathroom renovation “nightmares” in our 25 years of serving the community of Toronto and we would hate for you to go through a similar ordeal in 2015. For that reason we’ve put together a few of the text book remodeling errors you need to steer well clear of when giving your bathroom a makeover.

Bathroom Renovations: Serious Errors You Must Avoid If You’re Planning One

Bathroom renovations can improve your quality of life, boost the value of your home and make the room function much more efficiently, but only if done right. Here’s what not to do during a bathroom renovation:

• Setting an Unrealistic Budget – This is a cardinal sin in the remodeling world! Even worse would be to not set a budget at all. You absolutely must be realistic about how much you can afford to spend during a bathroom renovation and then incorporate features and changes into your plan that can realistically be done for that cost. There’s no use in trying to complete $50,000 of work with $10,000, as the quality of the whole renovation will suffer.

• No Clear Plan – Even worse than not getting your budget right is to go into a bathroom renovation without having a clear plan in place. Making decisions as you go will only end one way: badly. Bathroom renovations require careful, precise planning if you’re going to get a design that meets your needs for a cost you can afford. As the expression goes “failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

• Adopting a Passing Trend – Every single year there are new trends in home design, but it’s very risky to base bathroom renovations on these trends as many of them pass in what seems like the blink of an eye. You’re then left with a design that becomes something you want to hide rather than show off and you’ll likely be stuck with it for a good number of years given the expense that’s involved with bathroom renovations. Basing your renovation on a passing fad could also make your home less desirable and therefore less saleable, which could be an issue if you want to move.

• Attempting Complicated Tasks Yourself – This has always been an issue, but even more so in recent years as homeowners look to make savings wherever possible to combat the effects of the recession. Unless you have some professional experience in completing bathroom renovations, you should seriously consider hiring a qualified contractor. While you might be able to save some of the cost by completing small tasks such as painting, you will likely increase the overall project cost if you attempt specialist tasks such as plumbing or electrics.

If you’re interested in having a bathroom renovation done at your property and want some professional guidance or maybe a free consultation with our team, get in touch with Parada Kitchens & Bathrooms. In additional to bathroom renovations we also complete kitchen renovations.

Whether you are looking to install new countertops as part of a larger kitchen remodeling project or you’re simply in the market for new countertops, there is such an immense range of options available nowadays that it can be very difficult to know which way to turn as a homeowner. Granite has been one of the more heavily favoured materials for both kitchen and bathroom renovations in recent times and when you consider the benefits that it offers, it’s actually quite easy to see why.

Some of the Many Benefits Offered By a Granite Countertop

Undecided over whether a granite countertop surface would be the best choice for your kitchen? Take a look at the following advantages that this material is able to offer:

• Extremely Tough and Durable – There are very few naturally occurring materials that can compare to granite in terms of sheer harness; in fact diamond is the only one that is tougher. This characteristic alone makes a granite countertop surface very well suited to the kitchen environment, where it will likely have to resist scratches, scrapes and moisture, all of which it is very capable of doing.

• Maintenance is Relatively Straightforward – An important consideration that shouldn’t be overlooked is the amount of maintenance that will be required to keep the countertop in good condition. It’s good news with granite countertops, since as long as they are installed and sealed properly (a very good reason to have a pro carry out the job), they are adept at resisting both spillages and stains, and don’t provide an environment in which bacteria can thrive, which as we’re sure you’ll agree is vital in the kitchen.

• Visually Appealing Material – When it comes to kitchen renovations it’s vital to strike the right balance between form and function. This is something that a granite countertop does incredibly well. As it’s a natural material, no two sections of granite countertop are exactly the same and the minerals within the granite really add character to its appearance. Additionally, granite is not a material that fades, so even when exposed to direct sunlight you can expect these countertops to maintain their appearance.

• Increases Your Home’s Value – Some features and home remodeling projects are dead money; you’ve no chance of recouping much of the money that you pay out. However, that’s not the case with granite countertops as they are a highly desirable feature that make your property a much more investable opportunity, therefore driving its value upwards. An investment in a granite countertop is a very wise move!

• Able to Resist Heat – With hot pots and pans being used to prepare food in the kitchen area it’s essential that your preparation areas are able to resist high temperature if need be. That’s certainly the case with granite, which is formed at high temperatures and under extreme pressure and will comfortably deal with the any temperatures that it is likely to encounter in your kitchen.

Would you like a free in home consultation for some new countertops? Or perhaps you simply want some more advice about granite countertops? Whatever you need, if you reside in either Markham or Richmond Hill, we’re the company to call. We can be reached on (416) 291-4259.

Design trends come and go. Some stay around for a long, long time whilst others are gone before they ever get a chance to catch on. Contemporary or modern designs fall into the former category. In fact, they’ve been around for so long that you’d have to call them a style now as opposed to a trend. You see this style used widely throughout residential properties as well as commercial properties nowadays, but none more so than in kitchen areas, where there’s more “going on” than in other rooms and more chances to add a modern touch. As kitchen remodeling specialists we get asked about features of modern kitchen designs frequently, particularly with regards to kitchen cabinets and so wanted to put together this post to talk about some of the main features of modern kitchen cabinets.

What Can You Expect From Modern Kitchen Cabinets?

We all associate the word modern with “stuff” that looks new, high-tech and futuristic. But what does that actually look like in terms of kitchen cabinets? What could you expect to see if you had modern kitchen cabinets installed tomorrow?

Simplicity – You won’t see a lot of design details in a set of modern kitchen cabinets; simplicity is the key word here. As kitchen cabinets occupy a large amount of space in the kitchen, this can help to make the overall design feel very clean and uncomplicated.

Bold Colour Choices – More traditional styles of kitchen cabinets tend to utilize more neutral colours such as whites, greys and light browns, but modern kitchen cabinets are often produced in much more striking colours, such as bright reds or yellows. This certainly makes a statement and isn’t for everyone.

Mixed Materials – There’s no single material that you associate with modern kitchen cabinets, whereas more traditional cabinets are almost always constructed from a variety of hardwood. Laminate materials, glass and metals such as aluminium all feature heavily in the design of modern kitchen cabinets and it’s not unusual to see more than one material incorporated into a single design.

Smooth, Flat Surfaces – There is zero ornamentation on a modern kitchen cabinet and the panels that are used to build the cabinet are typically very smooth and flat. In recent years there has been more variation in terms of shape, with pronounced angles and curved designs being used. Again, these types of designs are very bold and visually striking when you walk into the room.

Why would you want modern kitchen cabinets? As we’ve mentioned, they’re definitely not for everyone, but if you’re looking for a cabinet design that makes the room feel bigger and more open, then this is one option you should explore. The interiors of these cabinets aren’t usually as simplistic as their exteriors and can contain advanced storage systems that help to organize your cooking equipment effectively. For more information on modern kitchen cabinets or to talk about designs with our Toronto based team, contact us today on 416-762-3500.

Contact us for modern kitchen cabinets in Toronto

While there are several different parts that make up a bathroom vanity, the countertop is undoubtedly one of the most important. Why? Well, just think about it for a second. On a daily basis the countertop area of bathroom vanities is likely to come into contact with water and moisture, as well as some of the many items that you most probably keep in the bathroom. Sure, cabinet doors will be opened and closed a few times, but they aren’t subjected to the same level of wear and tear as the countertop is. For this reason it’s absolutely vital that you carefully consider the type of countertop material you select when buying new bathroom vanities. During this article we are going to try and help you with this decision by talking you through a few of the most popular options.

Form vs. Function With Bathroom Vanity Countertops

While countertops in the bathroom do have to be able to tolerate frequent use as we’ve just mentioned, the way in which they are treated is by no means as harsh as is typical in the kitchen area, where countertops can be exposed to a range of acidic solutions, food debris and sharp knives. This allows you to lean slightly more towards form when selecting countertops for bathroom vanities and materials that wouldn’t be suitable in a kitchen become a realistic option, such as marble.

Introducing Some of the Most Popular Countertop Materials for Bathroom Vanities

While the decision you ultimately make must fall into line with your own personal tastes and requirements, the following options are extremely popular with the majority of homeowners.

Granite – If natural stone is your thing, then granite should definitely be one of the surfaces that you consider. While it’s not cheap, granite boasts a wide range of advantages. Firstly, it’s extremely durable and if well cared for, these countertops should easily last you a lifetime. Secondly, granite countertops are highly resistant to stains, giving you peace of mind just in case you accidentally spill something.

Tile – Tiled surfaces have always been popular in the bathroom. They’ve been widely used for floors, on the walls, in showers and to create countertops for bathroom vanities. Modern tiled countertops improve on what was available in years gone by, in that they are available in much larger sizes. This means that not so many tiles need to be used and consequently grout lines (which are difficult to clean) are not so much of an issue. Available in a wide range of styles at a much lower price point than granite.

Manufactured Quartz – This is a material that can bring glitz and glamour to your bathroom. It’s classified as a sympathetic composite, made up of 90% quartz particles. It’s a very good choice for bathroom vanities since it hardly requires any maintenance and is very difficult to scratch or stain. Generally comparable in terms of price to granite.